And Baby Makes Three
by Beautiful Evidence
Summary: After enjoying congealed pizza, Mulder and Scully snuggle up on the couch for a nice evening together.


"And Baby Makes Three" written by Justine B.

Rating: PG

Summary: After enjoying congealed pizza, Mulder and Scully snuggle up on the couch for a nice evening together.

Spoilers: Empedocles, Detour, an important detail first revealed in Requiem, Per Manum, Momento Mori punch lines from the movie.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately Baby is not mine. He's Scully and Mulder's Little Miracle, and they aren't mine either.

_Scully's Residence_

_10:00 PM_

Lightsabers clash with a white-hot sizzle. Good vs. evil in the final battle, which would reveal all truth in the fifth Star Wars film _The Empire Strikes Back_. Luke Skywalker clings for dear life to a post above hundreds of levels within the empire's space station as Lord Vader stands before him on a platform, a red lightsaber gripped in his mechanical hand. He waves it as Luke screams accusations at him.

'You killed my father!'

There is a moment of silence as Darth Vader contemplates his next words.

'Luke, _I_ am your father.'

"So maybe this _isn't_ the best movie for us to be watching right now, Scully," Mulder said, just as a horrendous "N-o-o-o-o!" blared from the television set before them.

Now outside the world of science fiction and Jedi knights and back in the reality of Dana Scully's homey apartment, Mulder cringed, glancing sideways at the pregnant woman snuggled warmly in his arms.

Scully sleepily smiled and looked up at him with beautiful blue eyes that told him exactly how strong of a woman she was. Her eyes held nine months worth of tears shed for her unborn child and for him, as well as all the happiness that came with a pregnancy—especially this one, a miracle beyond questioning.

"Well, Mulder, Star Wars wasn't exactly my choice to begin with," she replied. "But, of course, you always pick the movie, and considering you've been gone for all these months and this is our first movie since you've been fully restored...well, who's to argue?"

He drew in a breath, then released it in a sigh. "I'm not the one who's pregnant, though." Mulder gently placed his hands entangled with hers on top of her large belly, smiling.

"Speaking of which…" Her voice trailed off and a mischievous look crossed her face. "May I exploit my, uh, current position and suddenly break into a mad craving?"

"Scully, we just ate a congealed pizza!" he said, gesturing towards the empty delivery box on top of the coffee table.

"I know," was her blunt reply.

"Scully, I don't think you heard me right. _We just ate a whole, congealed pizza._"

She leaned her head back against his shoulder, peering up at him through long lashes. Her lips formed into a pout as she murmured slyly, "Mulder, I'm pregnant." Her pout turned to a grin as she watched the expression on his face subside.

"What is it that you're so madly craving at"—he paused, glancing at his watch—" ten o' clock in the evening?"

Scully stifled a giggle, stirring up Mulder's curiosity. Her lips formed an exaggerated 'ooh' shape as she said lightly, "You."

"Me?" he asked in a mocking disbelief. She nodded, and after his smirk dissipated he shot her a sidelong look. "Uh, Scully, I don't know if you really realized this, but, uh…"—he cleared his throat—"Well, what I'm trying to say is that I really, uh, feel that—"

"Yes, Mulder?" she asked upwardly through narrow eyebrows.

"I mean, Scully, how do we, _you know_, with…" He gestured towards her stomach.

He could tell it took her a moment for his words to register, due to the blank expression she gave him. But suddenly her face brightened, then almost immediately evolved into that eye roll that she gave him quite often.

"You know, Mulder, everything romantic and idealistic does _not_ have to be purely sexual," she told him flatly. "I just wanted a kiss."

He exclaimed an "oh!" then leaned forward as she tilted her head up to catch his lips against hers in a passionate kiss—the classic Spiderman upside-down fashion. His hands still resting on her stomach, the kiss was interrupted by her whole abdomen jerking. The kiss lingered a bit longer while they each exhaled quiet laughter.

"I think Baby's jealous." Mulder drew back and smiled, his focus turning towards her stomach.

"Either that or Baby's just as happy as Mommy is right now that—" Scully stopped and let out an excited breath as the child kicked the inside of her stomach once again.

"What do you think, Scully—football or soccer player?" Mulder asked eagerly.

"Well, I was hoping he or she would take more after their Nix and Yankee-consumed father," she answered.

His expression turned solemn. "Father?" he asked hesitantly. "Have you confirmed it yet, Scully?" There was a pause, but before she had time to reply he continued. "I mean, I've always felt—I know _you've_ always felt, too, that it was that night, but—"

"Yes, I _have_ felt that, Mulder. I've felt strongly about that. I have yet to confirm it, but I really feel right about this. It's not like during the first stages of my pregnancy when we were getting case after case of all these women bearing human-alien clones. The more and more I turned away from the science of it and just went with my instincts and _believed_, it just felt right," Scully explained, picking up one of his hands from her stomach and placing it into her own, studying his hand absentmindedly as she thought.

"So this isn't just some lame smokescreen to explain your corporeal relationship with the pizza guy?" Mulder asked. He smirked, and in response Scully reached up and pinched his nose. The two of them laughed in unison.

"Well, now that we're on the subject, there _was_ this one time when I came up a couple bucks short of the price for the pizza, so to make up for those unpaid dollars, I sort of gave him a…_tip_," she said, keeping a straight face that even amazed herself.

"_No_," Mulder said with a smirk, but when she only returned his answer with a solemn expression, his eyes widened.

"Yeah," she said, nodding while she leaned back against Mulder's chest. A pleasant look washed over her face as she thought. "We had a _great_ time. He said he hadn't tasted something so good in a long time." She glanced up at a stunned Mulder, just to see how she was doing. Feeling rather accomplished, she continued. "Unfortunately we couldn't keep at it much longer, because he had a tight schedule, and practically as soon as he came, he went."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Mulder said flatly.

"No, I wouldn't kid you. What's so bad about me giving the pizza man two pieces of pizza as a tip?" Seeing Mulder's sheet white face returning back to its normal color, Scully burst into laughter. "Oh my god! You actually _fell_ for that, Mulder?"

"What do you mean? I wouldn't fall for something like that!" he said, crossing his arms as if taking offense.

"Oh, come on, Mulder. I saw your face. You were scared…maybe even jealous."

"We've been through this plenty of times in the past. Scully, when I panic, I make this face." Mulder forced a blank expression across his face then turned back to Scully to see her response.

"It wasn't so much panic, but there was definitely a moment of jealousy there." Scully grinned. "Anyways, what movie should we watch now?"

"What movie? I don't know. We could see what's on the Sci-Fi channel," he suggested.

"Does your world consist of anything besides the Sci-Fi channel, Mulder? Have you at all tried to expand your horizons and realize that there is more to life than lightsabers and little green men?" she asked.

"Well, I don't hear you helping any," he replied.

Scully peered up at him and asked, "How about we combine a woman's movie with baseball?"

He scoffed. "What—we watch Shakespeare in Love while tossing a baseball back and forth?"

"No, we watch A League Of Their Own. I own the movie," Scully said. "It's about the first women's baseball teams," she explained.

"Speaking of women and baseball," he began, "we should head out to the park and hit a few homeruns."

"Mulder."

"Oh, sorry. I forget how hard that would be with fifty extra pounds on you," he said, receiving a nudge in his side. "Fat or not, Scully—you still look beautiful." He nuzzled his nose against her ear and planted a few kisses on her temple.

"Why thank you, Mulder. That's probably the nicest thing you've said to me tonight. Well, I take it back; and the doll, too. You're just too good to me," she said, leaning up for a quick kiss. Pulling away, she stared knowingly at him. "What do you want?"

"What do you mean, _what do I want_?"

"You sure you're not trying to bribe me into doing something?" she asked in mock suspicion. When he shook his head, she smiled. "Okay. You know, instead of a movie, why don't we just talk?"

"Talk? About what?" he asked.

"Oh I don't know. How about baby names?"

"Baby names? Uh, like what you're gonna name the kid?"

Scully smiled. "What _we're_ going to name the kid, yes. And for the sake of having a name to refer to instead of Kid or Baby, you start."

There was a long moment of silence before Mulder shot out a name. "Bilbo!"

"Bilbo, Mulder? Why the hell would you name a kid Bilbo?" Scully asked, giving him a crazed look.

"Because Bilbo Baggins was my childhood hero. I read The Hobbit twelve times in a period of two years, Scully. And besides, Bilbo was a very idiosyncraticised-rambling-hairy-footed-hobbit with a big heart, even though he stood barely at four feet," Mulder explained.

"Are you saying our kid is going to have hairy feet, Mulder?"

"No, Scully. The point is that Bilbo Baggins was eccentric—rather exclusive. Take a look at this baby's parents. I mean, you're a very rational but kind-hearted woman, who although meddles excessively at times…has the most beautiful eyes that I've ever seen," Mulder quickly added. "And I'm just a-a—"

"Nerd," Scully interrupted. "An extremely caring, but science-fiction consumed nerd who got laid off of his job—and yes, that is just a polite way of saying you were fired"—a pause, then: "who happens to be the most good-looking guy I know." She grinned and couldn't help herself. Scully leaned up and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Well, no matter how true that last part was, I think you got the point. With parents like us, this kid is bound to be a genuine Bilbo Baggins."

"You're forgetting a slight detail, Mulder," she said.

"And what's that?"

"I never specified the gender. I hate to shatter your Hobbitized tangent, but what if Bilbo is, indeed, a girl?"

"I didn't think that far," Mulder said, leaning his head back against the couch and closing his eyes. "If Baby's a girl, then why don't we just name her something that will prevent her from becoming a girly girl? Like…Jordan."

"I don't mind that name, it's just what's wrong with being a girly girl, Mulder? Generally, girls do tend to be girly," Scully said.

"Well, I mean a little bit of girly is alright, but I don't want her to be the type of girl who fails P.E. because she's scared of the ball," he explained, running his fingers through Scully's red hair. "She's got to be aggressive, learn how to keep up with us men."

"_If _it's a girl."

"Right. Hey, Scully, so is it a boy or girl?" Mulder inquired.

"XY or XX," she stated flatly. "That _is_ the mystery for me to know and you to find out." A grin played her lips, causing Mulder's curiosity to intensify by the second.

"C'mon, Scully. Doesn't Baby's own dad get to know?" he asked.

Scully smiled widely. "Mulder, what does it matter? Boy or girl, this baby with always be our sweet little miracle…right?"

Mulder smiled in return, then wrapped his arms around her neck, kissing her gently. They both let out laughter as Little Miracle kicked the inside of Scully's tummy. Mulder quickly withdrew from the kiss and exclaimed, "Leia! Like, you know, Princess Leia!"

Scully eyed him with that priceless look.

"Princess Leia, Mulder?"

"Well, just Leia—if it's a girl." He paused, then looked at her sideways. "Don't you have any ideas?"

"For a girl? Samantha Emily," Scully replied. There was a speechless moment between them as they sat in silence, pondering her words and how significant they were to each of them.

"I like that," Mulder said with a nod. "So that means it's a girl?"

"I didn't say that!"

"So it's a boy."

"Mulder, I'm not telling! I want you to be surprised when this baby's born. I mean, don't you want to be surprised?" Scully shifted uncomfortably, then shifted again. Finally she found a satisfying position propped up against him—which, technically, was how she originally had been sitting.

"Luke or Leia, then. Or Bilbo," he quickly added, "if they don't look like a Luke or Leia."

"And, Mulder, what if I have _both_ a Luke and Leia?" Scully asked with a giggle.

"Oh my god, you're having twins," Mulder breathed.

"No. I'm not," she said, touching his cheek with her fingers. She smiled and continued, "I will tell you that much just to take a load off your mind."

"Scully, just think. I've always wanted someone to give my I Want To Believe poster to, especially now that I'm out of work. And those three pointers! I can just see our son/daughter racing down the court, taking a deep breath and exhaling it, positioning that ball just right, then _whoosh_! Oh, and that baseball soaring through the air—up, up, up and then over the fence, into the yard of the creepy neighbor that we'll live next to in Mayberry. And don't forget hip before hand; the first rule of baseball." Mulder sighed, a dreamy smile crossing his lips. He looked down at her. "What do you think, Scully?"

"Well-well…" Her words trailed off and she bit her lip. "What will I get to teach our child?"

"The fundamentals of life, Scully, coming from a doctor and everything," he said with a grin.

"The what? You mean like the birds and the bees type of fundamentals?" When Mulder nodded, she let out a complaining puff of air. "That's not fair. I want to be a part of my child's active life, too."

"What about 'how to make a bed, as told by Dr. Mom?'" Mulder suggested. He nudged her in the side. "I'm just kidding, Scully. Of course you'll be an active part of this child's life!"

They both look down at her rather large belly. The thought was hard to fathom, that there was a living entity within the womb of a supposedly barren mother, eating and breathing everything Scully did. Including congealed pizza.

Scully yawned. The late hour was finally catching up with her.

"What do you say we get some sleep?" he whispered into her ear, flipping off the television set, which had been momentarily been idle on an uninteresting channel.

"Mmm," she answered, shutting her eyes, her head of red hair resting against his shoulder.

"I'll take that as a yes."

As he helped her to stand, the world seemed a bit hazier than it had before she closed her eyes. Carrying an extra human being inside wasn't the easiest job in the world—in fact it was incredibly tiring—but everyday Scully thanked God that the impossible had happened.

The two of them climbed into her bed. Mulder threw a warm comforter over them and snuggled up against Scully, touching their foreheads together. He watched her for a few moments, in awe of the beauty she bore in accompaniment with this unborn child. He carefully set one of his hands on top of her stomach. In response, her eyes fluttered open and she smiled.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too." Mulder leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Do you think the baby would like it if I sang to him?"

"Sure. As long as it isn't Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog." Scully giggled.

"Rock a by baby," Mulder sang into Scully's ear, although the lullaby was meant—mostly—for the baby, "in the tree tops. When the bow breaks, the cradle will rock…" He continued singing until he finished the lullaby. Realizing Scully was sleeping (and probably the baby was, too), he reached up by the bedside and turned off the lamp.

From then on, his dreams took over his thoughts.

_The Next Day_

_Mulder's Residence_

_4:00 PM_

An alarm clock blared somewhere in the back of his mind. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to register his surroundings. When he did, he found himself in his apartment, the alarm clock's squeal more than just a nightmare, and the bizarre feeling of lost time. He reached for the clock next to his waterbed, the temptation to throw the damn clock across the room never once leaving his mind. Instead, he gave it a good whack, and it stopped squealing. He sat up and yawned, stretching to release the tension build-up from his long nap. Now—unemployed—he had a lot of free time on his hands to do just about anything, including those wonderful afternoon naps.

Mulder lazily walked out of his room and into the confined kitchen area. He opened the fridge and studied in disgust at the empty stage of the shelves. Shrugging, he mumbled something about having no time on his hands to go shopping and chugged down some orange juice.

He threw the empty carton out and went to the bathroom. Realizing it was well into the day and he still had not gotten his mail, Mulder took the elevator down to the first floor and found his mail box. He unlocked it and pulled out several envelopes, flipping through them, mumbling "crap" to each bill he saw. But one envelope caught his eye. There wasn't a return address—in fact, there wasn't any type of mail address. All the blue envelope said was _To Mulder, Love Dana._ He smiled and gathered his mail, taking it back to his apartment. Once back inside, he slumped down on the couch and flipped on the television, pulling off his shirt and throwing it in a random position on the floor.

"Mulder, thank you for the lovely doll. It means so much to me, especially since it was your mother's," he read aloud. "I can't express enough gratitude to you for everything, including our Little Miracle. I love you, Dana."

He smiled. Then something at the bottom of the thank you card caught his eye.

"P.S.," he continued reading. "XO, XY…and baby makes three."

Mulder looked up with furrowed brows, then took a double take and glanced back down at the card. A smile suddenly crossed his lips when he realized just how clever his Dana was. His heart began to race in his chest when he thought about what she had written. Images of three pointers, homeruns, Star Wars, and a mixture of other thoughts poured through his head. Then tears began to form in his eyes, and he cursed himself for being such an emotional guy.

_XY, _he thought. _We're going to have a son_.


End file.
